Friday, May 16, 2008

Have I mentioned how much I love Etsy :) I take nearly every opportunity I can to buy handmade and since Etsy is "The place to buy and sell all things handmade" it's my number one resource. One of my favorite excuses for shopping on Etsy is planning a party. Recently I became an Aunt and had a great time planning a baby shower for my sister in-law. It was the third party I'd planned using primarily handmade items from Etsy for. So here are the awesome shops that helped make the shower and my daughter, Elle's first and second birthday extra special.

I love love love the invitations Serendipity - Beyond Design creates. She made the invites and a CD label for Elle's second birthday party and did the invites, labels for the favors, and thank you cards for the shower (I don't have a picture of those). She is so creative and comes up with unique designs that make the perfect first impressions for the event.

I always find great favors on Etsy too. Fizzy Habit made fizzy bath bombs for the shower favors, they were packaged in cute little brown boxes, the relaxation scent smelled wonderful, and we sealed them with labels that Beyond Design made for us.

For Elle's first birthday, which was a cupcake theme, Soapy Love made cupcake shaped soaps with polka dots.

For Elle's second birthday Naiad custom made clear bars of soap with black music notes in them. They were blackcherry birthday cake scented, and she even made a custom label for them with Elle's birthday info on it.

We also gave CDs in the favor bags for her 2nd brithday. And a shop made adorable covers for them, that shops doesn't still sell through Etsy, but in craft we trust sells something really similar.

Elle even wore a handmade skirt and hair bow made custom for her. Unfortunately, neither of those shops sell on Etsy anymore either, but Ritzy Knits has a similar style to the skirt I bought, and I've bought other similar bows from Lil Bug Boutique and have loved those.

Oh and of course there's the gifts. I made my sister in-law a few Elle Belle favorites and purchased some other handmade items as well. I thought these address labels with the new baby's name on them, from Sweetpaperie were a unique shower gift. I want everything in this shop!

I also included custom book plates from Taylored Arts, one of which was pasted in one of Elle and my favorite bed time reads, Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Handmade touches make a party and gifts so special! Elle's 3rd birthday is 4 months away and counting... A great party is waiting to be discovered in an Etsy search.

About Me

Stacey is a business analyst by day and blogger/seamster/ crafter/party planner/aspiring Super Mom by night & weekends. When she's not solving fortune 500 companies system and process problems she's making whatever inspires her at the moment. Her uber supportive husband, Doug, and adorable daughters, Elle & Liv, are her motivation, inspiration, and sense of accomplishment.